Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31, 1965) is an American novelist, screenwriter, and film producer. He has published twenty-three novels, allNew York Times bestsellers,[1] and two works of nonfiction, with over 115 million copies sold worldwide in more than 50 languages.[2] Among his works areThe Notebook,A Walk to Remember, andMessage in a Bottle all of which, along with eight other books, have been adapted as feature films.[3]
Sparks' first published book wasWokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding,[12] a nonfiction book co-written byBilly Mills aboutLakota spiritual beliefs and practices, published by Feather Publishing. The book sold 50,000 copies in its first year after release.[13]
In 1995, literary agentTheresa Park secured a $1 million advance forThe Notebook fromTime Warner Book Group, the book that became Sparks’s breakthrough novel.[14] Published in October 1996, the novel madeThe New York Times bestseller list in its first week of release and eventually spent fifty-six weeks there.
IncludingThe Notebook, fifteen of Sparks's novels have been No. 1 New York Times Best Sellers, and all of his novels have been both New York Times and international bestsellers.[16] Sparks has also often been listed onForbes annual highest-paid authors lists.[17]
In September 2020, Sparks published his twenty-first novelThe Return and followed that up withThe Wish in 2021 andDreamland in 2022, each of which were optioned as films.[18]
In 2008, Sparks donated nearly $900,000[21] for a new, all-weathertartan track toNew Bern High School, where he has also volunteered to coach.[22] The same year, he also donated "close to $10 million" to start a private school, The Epiphany School of Global Studies.[23][24] Sparks has also fundedscholarships,internships, and annualfellowships at theUniversity of Notre Dame Creative Writing Program. In 2012, he founded The Nicholas Sparks Foundation, a nonprofit that funds global education experiences for students, which has donated more than $15 million to charities, scholarship programs, and other projects.[25]
In April 2021, it was announced that a film adaptation ofThe Return was in development. Tom Dean joined the production as director, with the project developed by Bisous Pictures, andMRC Films, whileMRC will serve as distributing company. Sparks will serve as a producer alongside Elizabeth Cantillon, and Theresa Park.[31][32] In May of the same year, it was announced that three additional films based on novels by the author were in development for distribution byUniversal Pictures. The company signed a first-look deal with Sparks, with intentions being that a long-term working relationship follow; the three movies will be joint-venture productions between Universal Pictures and Anonymous Content.The Wish will be the first book to be developed by the studio, followed byDreamland, and an as-of-yet unspecified third adaptation.The Wish will see Sparks serve as producer, alongside Park, and Zack Hayden.[33][34][35][36]
In February 2024, Sparks stated that there were at that point four of his books in development for film adaptations. The author expressed interest in adaptations forThe Guardian andSee Me, stating that the latter may be suited for a miniseries.[37] In October of the same year, it was announced that a feature film adaptation ofCounting Miracles was in development.Alan Ritchson is star in the leading role, in addition to serving as producer. The project will be a joint-venture production betweenAmazon MGM Studios, AllyCat Entertainment, Industry Entertainment, and Di Novi Pictures.Denise Di Novi, Margaret French Isaac, and Theresa Park will also serve as producers.[38]
In January 2025, it was announced that Sparks had collaborated withM. Night Shyamalan on an original story they co-wrote, which is described as a supernatural romantic thriller. Sparks authored the upcoming novel, while Shyamalan served as screenwriter/director for the film adaptation.Jake Gyllenhaal stars in the movie, while Shyamalan produced alongside Ashwin Rajan, Theresa Park, and Marc Bienstock.Blinding Edge Pictures was the production studio, whileWarner Bros. will distribute.[39] In April 2025, it was revealed that the title of the film wasRemain.[40] According to Sparks, his manager tasked him with developing "an original story that you think will fit [Shyamalan's] audience and yours — and he's going to do the same thing." After sharing their ideas at a first meeting, Shyamalan decided to go with Sparks' story.[41][42]
In February 2025, it was announced that new adaptation ofA Walk to Remember was in development. The project will be a joint-venture production between Monarch Media, Di Novi Pictures, and Roserock Films; with the movie produced by Steve Barnett,Alan Powell, Vicky Patel,Denise Di Novi, Margaret French-Isaac,Hunt Lowry, and Patty Reed.[43]
^Gellman, Sarah (February 12, 2024)."Author Q&A with Nicholas Sparks".Amazon Live. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2025.I always thought that let's saySee Me would be really good. I think that's a really neat story, I really the characters; that could be a good movie. It might be too much of a story, you might want a limited series. I thinkThe Guardian, that one that was so hard for me to write, because I had to redo it; that's a neat balance between a love story and a thriller and that's challenging to do, so that would actually lend itself very well to film as well.
